Greater New Orleans

WWII veteran from Harvey served with Patton

Phillip Loyacano, 86, of Harvey, looks 10 years younger than his age and happier than the person who just won the lottery.

Phillip Loyacano of Harvey, top row, far left, enlisted in the 270th Field Artillery Battalion, under Gen. George 'Blood and Cuts' Patton's 3rd Army.

Loyacano, who was discharged from the Army as a corporal after World War II, wears a WWII badge on his right shirt pocket and a West Jefferson Medical Center security officer’s badge on the left pocket of his blue uniform shirt. He is thankful for his past and his present.

Recently, Loyacano received a call from Bernon Butler, 90, of West Monroe. They have been friends since the day they sat next to each other to enlist in the U.S. Army in New Orleans. They were honorably discharged together at Camp Shelby, Miss.

Butler “is not doing well now. He is in a wheelchair,” Loyacano said. “But I was just excited to hear his voice.”

Loyacano is the seventh and last son of two Italian immigrants. He was born 16 years after his parents settled on the West Bank. He went to St. Joseph School in Gretna, but quit in sixth grade to help his parents with their family restaurant, Unc Hotard’s restaurant and Katz’s Bar.

“We made hot bread and sandwiches and were open all night because the casinos at the time were open late too,” Loyacano said.

In March 1943, at 18 years old, Loyacano volunteered to fight for his country after making sure his family was financially stable. He said that at first, the Army inducted him as a cook, but he requested to be on the field.

He enlisted in the 270th Field Artillery Battalion, under Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army.

Serving with Patton

“Here I was, leaving mama and papa, hoping they would be there when I come back from the war,” Loyacano said.

A year after training, he boarded the English ship Aquatina and left New York for Scotland. His unit won medals for playing a part in all five battles of the European operations in Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.

“My outfit was in all of General Patton’s battles, and I was blessed by the good Lord to be in it,” Loyacano said. “I didn’t do anything unusual; I was just doing what I was told to.”

Loyacano said that every soldier, including him, anticipated using the 240mm Howitzer, which was “spectacular in its speed and accuracy.”

“Was it bad, was it scary? Yes,” Loyacano said. “Whenever I came in front of a German soldier, I always thought, ‘Yeah, he’s from the enemy, but he’s still human.’ ”

Phillip Loyacano, 86, of Harvey, says he's known as the 'fun guy' on the West Bank. Here, he enjoys meeting the Victory Belles singing group at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

Loyacano said he still wonders how he got through the war. He tries to pick out the best memories of combat and push aside the bad ones.

“Going through France’s villages, people touched you and were excited to see you because you were liberating them,” Loyacano said. “But it’s hard whenever I think about the friends I left behind. I pray for them and myself.”

Mess hall reunion

His hands shook and his eyes became teary as he recalled the two “miracles” that reunited him with his brothers.

In August 1945, a month before the war ended, Loyacano was away from his camp on an advanced mission. While he was gone, his brother, Carlo — from a different company at a different post — came to visit and left him a note. He didn’t believe it was possible.

“All of the young men said, ‘He left you a note,’ and when I saw his handwriting, I knew Carlo was here,” Loyacano said.

He asked his commander for a leave and spent three days with his brother.

“We were the talk of everyone in the area,” Loyacano said.

In December 1945, he celebrated the second “miracle” with pots and pans.

While standing in line for his last meal in the Army, he saw his brother Paul, whom he had not seen for four years.

“Paul and I jumped over the table, knocking down pots and pans, screaming and hugging each other with excitement,” Loyacano said. “Everyone was saying, ‘That’s Phil’s brother Paul.’ ”

A month later, their father died.

Community service

The following year, he married the 15-year-old girl he left before the war, June Walker. They were married for 59 years before she died in 2004. Loyacano has a son, a daughter, four grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

After the war, the soldiers received $100 of “mustering-out pay” in order to get started again, Loyacano said. To raise his family, he worked in an insurance company for more than four decades.

He was also the president of the Gretna Sportsmen’s Club in 1971, served on the West Jefferson Levee District for 21 years under five governors and organized the only Father and Son Bowling League in metropolitan New Orleans in the 1950s.

“I know that serving my country made me a better person,” Loyacano said.

After his wife died, he said he “figured life was over” for him. But, his daughter encouraged him to do something and live on.

Since then, he has been a security officer at WJMC and said he is “blessed with friends.”

“We go dancing every week,” Loyacano said. “I am popular on the West Bank as a fun guy.”